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3DTV Sales to Spike Next Year, Firm Says

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Market researcher Futuresource Consulting said it expects sales of 3DTVs to skyrocket over the next few years.

The company predicts that 4 million 3DTVs will be sold worldwide by the end of this year, reaching up to 5 million in the U.S. and 3 million in Western Europe by next year.

The company said that so far, “year-one adoption of 3DTV is running at a far quicker rate in most territories than it did for high definition.”

According to the company, vendors are seeing value in delivering 3D in their sets and "manufacturers are now able to embed 3D chipsets at a relatively low cost, allowing them to increase their margins while still keeping 3D affordable."

Futuresource noted that Toshiba's recent announcement of glasses-free 3DTVs could be "discouraging some consumers from investing in the current generation of 3DTV."

But the research firm said it believes that the technology is "at least four years away" from being made available in large sets for the home and up to seven years away from reaching "mass-market pricing."

Major TV makers are adding 3D technology, though one study has suggested that many consumers aren’t yet ready to adopt the technology.